BI intercepts trafficking victim who faked signature of IACAT official

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Wednesday that it intercepted a woman who presented a document with the fake signature of an official of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).

In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the 30-year-old victim claimed she was an employee of the Department of Justice and was bound for Singapore for an official travel, together with IACAT undersecretary-in-charge and Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Ty.

The BI said the victim presented a travel authority that was allegedly signed by Ty. However, inconsistencies in the signature prompted the BI to verify the document with the Justice Department.

Due to this, they were able to confirm that the travel authority was fake and that the victim was recruited to work in the United Arab Emirates as an entertainer.

The BI said the victim supposedly paid 38,000 AED for her fake documents.

She said her documents were given to her at a fast food chain near Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3.

“The fake documents presented in this case are ridiculous. Faking the signature of the Undersecretary-in-Charge of IACAT to avoid scrutiny is the idea of these illegal recruiters and human traffickers who will not stop finding ways to evade inspection,” Tansingco said.

According to the BI, the victim has been turned over to the IACAT, and charges will be filed against the recruiters.

For his part, Ty commended the Immigration Bureau for its timely response. 

“Personally, I am bothered that they have information on my movements, as well as our internal processes, and even tried to use that information for their scheme,” Ty said in a message to reporters.

“DOJ-IACAT is already investigating the incident. We reiterate our warnings to everyone on the dangers of human trafficking,” he added.

Meanwhile, in a media briefing, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said they are looking at a “new wave of corruption” in the BI.

''It doesn’t end there,'' Remulla said. 

He said he has been receiving calls about corruption in the BI, such as escort services that were similar to the Pastillas scam, which allowed the illegal entry of Chinese citizens into the country.

"Definitely, there are people who are involved here. I cannot give any figures yet, but we are looking at a big scheme,” Remulla said. 

“I’m asking the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) to really look into this. Serious allegations have been made about the operation of a syndicate again within the BI,” he added. —with Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News